Alex
Alexandra, better known as Alex, is the main protagonist of Oxenfree. She is the player-controlled character. Players can shape her personality and her relationships with Clarissa, Ren, Nona, and Jonas, as well as the presence or absence of Michael with her dialogue options in-game. Alex is voiced by Erin Yvette. Personality Alex is a bright, rebellious teenager. Her general disposition is witty and sarcastic, but player choices can determine whether or not she is more negative or positive towards other characters. Appearance Alex has brown skin, reddish brown eyes, and teal-dyed hair that is tied up into a high ponytail. Before the game's events, she is shown to have auburn hair. It is implied in-game that she dyed her hair after her brother Michael's death, but there is one existing polaroid photo of Michael and Alex in which she already has her teal hair. She wears a blue raglan shirt, light wash skinny jeans that are ripped at the knees and rolled up at the bottom, a loosely wrapped string choker around her neck, and work boots. She also wears an over-sized red hunting jacket that once belonged to Michael. In memory sequences, Alex has her natural auburn hair and wears a blue striped shirt with a blue button-up denim jacket, jeans, and white sneakers, as well as Michael's red jacket. Background Alex lives in the town of Camena, Oregon, with her family. She grew up very close to her brother Michael and childhood friend Ren. She also grew up around Clarissa, Michael's girlfriend at the time. She was once arrested for grand theft auto as she and her friend Ashley borrowed a car without permission to go to a concert, much to Michael's reprimanding afterward. One year prior to the beginning of Oxenfree, Alex, Michael, and Clarissa took a trip to Edwards Island together so they could all spend the day out together. Michael claimed he intended to teach Alex how to swim at the pool the following week, though it is unknown if those plans were followed up. Before Michael graduated he asked for Alex's blessing to leave town for college and live on his own with Clarissa. Alex wanted for them to hang out one last time before he left, so they both went swimming at Horn Lake. This ultimately led to Michael drowning as Alex watched from the wayside, unable to help due to her poor or total lack of swimming skills. Clarissa clearly states multiple times that she holds Alex entirely accountable for Michael's death, and states in addition that the town of Camena looks at Alex as if she has a "red letter tattooed on her forehead" because of that. After Michael dies, it is implied that Alex grows more rebellious (possibly acting out in grief), choosing to skip a school placement aptitude test at school so that she could bring an amplifier to Ren's barnyard concert in Salem. Ren states that he managed to pass the test while overdosing on a large amount of cough syrup and that, in comparison, Alex would have been able to do excellent on it. It is mentioned in-game that prior to Michael's death, Alex's parents were prone to fighting and, eventually, following Michael's death, their marriage fell apart and ended with their divorce. Alex's mother remarried, which brought her new step-brother Jonas into Alex's life. Relationships * Michael - Michael is Alex's older brother, and the two of them have always shared a close "best-friend" bond. Regardless of player choices, he will listen to her opinion in all situations. The red jacket that Alex wears is a hand-me-down from Michael. During certain memory sequences in the game, Alex has the ability to convince Michael to stay in town and thus "resurrect" him later in the timeline, and can influence whether or not he and Clarissa remain a couple or break up. * Jonas - At the beginning of Oxenfree, it is stated that Alex and Jonas had just met each other for the first time, as Jonas had just moved in earlier that day. Because of this, Alex is somewhat wary of Jonas at the beginning of the game. Depending on the choices made by the player, Alex and Jonas can become closer and see each other truly as brother and sister, or remain distant. In addition, during certain memory sequences in the game, Alex has the ability to convince Michael to stay in town and thus "resurrect" him later in the timeline, negating the step-sibling relationship with Jonas (as Alex's parents would have never divorced), but still having the option to bond with Jonas as a friend or "other-brother". When playing a round of "Marry, Screw, Kill" during the game of Truth-or-Slap, Jonas is exempt as he is "technically family" to Alex. * Ren - Ren is Alex's childhood best friend. They often playfully banter and tease each other about old stories they know about each other. When playing a round of "Marry, Screw, Kill" during the game of Truth-or-Slap, Alex can choose to marry Ren as they are already friends so there would be no "surprises" (by which he is pleased as he would be a "stay-at-home husband"), sleep with him because knowing each other would make it less weird (to which he responds with "I knew those bass lessons would come in handy."), or kill him if left with no other options (which causes Ren to complain and jokingly declare the situation as misandry). Ren is generally accepting of Alex's choices in-game, and will usually confide in her first. Ren will look to Alex for help in terms of talking to Nona, and will either go out with Nona or stay friends depending on Alex's choices. * Nona - Alex and Nona do not know each other very well. Nona is not in school very often as Nona is prone to skipping, so they never have the chance to interact prior to the night on the island, but Nona is aware of who Alex is because they have shared classes. When playing a round of "Marry, Screw, Kill" during the game of Truth-or-Slap, Alex can choose to say she'd marry Nona as she likes the quiet types, sleep with her because she seems "present and giving", or kill her if left with no other options (and depending on the dialogue option, Nona may comment "I'd probably kill me too."). Alex can persuade Nona's decision to reach out to Ren or not. * Clarissa - Clarissa attempted to reach out to Alex when she and Michael were dating, understanding that Michael thought very highly of Alex and not wanting to make things weird for her. However, after Michael's death, their relationship became strained, with both having resentments towards each other fueled mainly by their grief. Alex tends to think of herself as "the annoying little sister" that she always had to climb in a window to get around in reference to Clarissa when she and Michael were together. When playing a round of "Marry, Screw, Kill" during the game of Truth-or-Slap, Alex can say she'd marry Clarissa just to spite her (or because Alex is sarcastically delighted to be able to hear her "biting wit" every day, or just because Clarissa is tall and would be able to reach the top shelf), sleep with her because she is "obviously" attractive (to which Jonas responds by asking if Clarissa believes that, and Clarissa responds confidently with "No, I believe her. I mean, look at me."), or kill her if left with no other options (by which Clarissa is unsurprised). Player choices can determine whether or not Alex and Clarissa's relationship can be (somewhat) repaired. Endings Depending on the sum of choices made by the player, the game can end in multiple ways that affect Alex's relationships with her friends. In terms of dealing with the ghosts, she can either give up Clarissa's life in exchange for her own or instead opt to close the portal with the radio. It is implied that the ghosts will have taken Alex; however, the ending sequence is the same, implying that Alex is and has been in a "loop". As a third option, Alex can also attempt to convince the ghosts via in-game knowledge from Adler notes to let her and her friends go. The final choice made in the game is determining whether or not Alex stays in town for college or decides to leave later in the timeline. Regardless, this does not effect the game or the other characters in the end. This choice is the only mandatory dialogue choice (the dialogue choices will not fade away) and will not affect the "The Strong, Silent Type" achievement. Trivia * Alex's red jacket once belonged to her brother Michael, as well as assumably the rest of her outfit, as Michael is seen wearing the same blue raglan shirt as Alex. * She seems to have a fondness for history, as she holds much knowledge and tends to explain little "fun facts" about various aspects of the island. * Alex did not know how to swim a week before Michael's death and it is possible he was teaching her at Horn Lake where he ultimately drowns and dies. * Clarissa pushed Alex into a pool in sixth grade. * Alex is voiced by Erin Yvette, who also provided voice talent in games such as The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, and The Walking Dead: Season 1. Category:Characters